Friday, December 17, 2004

Today's Roundup

--The fans and some team officials are optimistic that a deal can get done. Only 150 people have asked for ticket refunds.

"I would bet money on it," a high-ranking club official said yesterday. "I wouldn't bet my life savings. But if I was forced to choose and bet some of my own money, I would bet that it's going to get resolved and we're going to be back up and running on Dec. 31 or Jan. 1 at the latest."

(Hmm… What’s the punishment for betting on baseball again? Or is that just betting on games? :) )
And construction on RFK continues as well. The offices haven't shut down completely. They’re just in a limbo phase.

--Tom Knott notes the hypocrisy of Cropp standing up to MLB, yet leading the charge to declare eminent domain to secure land for a sweet-heart deal with a big box store.
(Man, I really hate using hypocrisy as an argument against something. Rarely are the things cited directly comparable because of the details at the margins. You can’t always analyze things at a macro level)

--The Washington Times rolls out their hit piece on the decline of baseball in Puerto Rico, despite its long baseball tradition. I wonder how long they’ve been sitting on this--waiting for the right moment go all-in with this. It’s not a particularly devastating piece, but it does pretty effectively demonstrate that Puerto Rico is not a viable option long-term, nor probably short-term.

--Ebay’s a boon to the speculative seller. Nats merchandise is making a killing on Ebay, again demonstrating the major problem with auctions: If you’re the winner, you’re the only one stupid enough to pay that price.